To Err is Human
by Tiffany Kleinhans
Summary: Abandoned by his friends and imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, Harry is rescued by an extremely unlikely person. What happens next? My version of Chibikan's story in progress, done with permission. Please R&R.
1. Prologue

**To Err is Human**

Alright, here's another story that I have kind permission from Chibikan to write my own version of. The prologue and first two chapters are mainly hers, with just some editing by me to set it up the way I want. I recommend you subscribe to the original as well, as she has said that she intends to write more when she's able. Also, the characters obviously aren't mine.

If you want updates on my writing, I now have a LiveJournal under the name OlympianLady. You'll need to be on my friends list to read it, but all you need to do is contact me somehow (add me as your friend, message me through this site, or post a comment to one of my public entries) and I'll add you.

Story Warnings: All I know about so far is Violence and Language. If there come to be more, I'll let you know.

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Prologue:

_To My Friends:_

_Trust is something that once broken is almost impossible to piece back together again. It's not merely some puzzle you pull out of the box and put together, following the picture provided. You can't take a tube of super glue and put the pieces back where they belong. It doesn't work that way. _

_Trust is rarely earned from the beginning. Trust is given to you by the people you encounter. But when you break that trust, it is rare that you can acquire it again._

_I have received your many letters asking me for forgiveness. Well, that you have, if only because, well, only because I don't need that weight on my shoulders. But you will never have my trust again._

_How can I trust any of you again, when you never really trusted me?_

_Signed_

_Harry Potter_


	2. How it Began

Once again, I owe thanks to Chibikan for letting me continue her story. This chapter is mainly hers. I just did minor editing.

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Chapter 1:

Harry was bidding goodbye to his friends as they left the station. His uncle was late. God knows why. Oh well, the longer it took him to get there the longer he had until he was thrust back into their lives. Heaven knew that they hated him, and only Heaven knew the hell he truly went through there. Yes, he would savor the wait as long as he could.

Suddenly the sound of apparition brought him to his feet. He looked around, drawing his wand.

"So, little Baby Potter is all alone?" came the cackle of Bellatrix Lestrange in complete Death Eater garb.

Harry spun around to his left. The woman was stupid, attacking him in an area full of muggles. Of course, the muggles just went about pretending they saw nothing, as muggles often did when they didn't want to get involved. "You……" He raised his wand hoping to get off a stunner before she could get off a spell herself.

But something seemed wrong. Both seemed to notice it. Their attentions were drawn to a person handing off a finely wrapped package.

"You know what?" Bella began. "I think I'll catch up with you later." A crack later and she was gone.

Milliseconds later a loud explosion rang from around Harry. He looked towards the explosion to see a rush of flame engulfing the muggles around him. Without thinking he cast a Protego spell around himself. But, while the shield was enough to keep the flames from incinerating him, the backlash threw Harry into a brick barrier knocking him unconscious to the ground.

Several hours later Harry awoke….in a small, dank, odorous cell. The most horrible creatures passed by him, tearing away every good feeling he knew. And he realized, like someone pouring a bucket of ice cold water on him, just where he was. Azkaban.

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Meanwhile in the ministry…

"That's right Dumbledore, we found your golden boy at the scene of the crime, with almost fifty muggles dead around him. He had his wand out and after a Priori Incantatem we found it was Potter who cast the curse." Fudge told Dumbledore who stood over his desk.

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, shook with despair. It couldn't be; Harry would never betray them. He would never attack muggles. But the aurors around him confirmed Fudge's story. He had to admit that it was true. There would be no need for Veritaserum. He said nothing, not wanting to give Fudge the satisfaction of having been right about Harry. Apparently the boy was unstable and felt such a deep unseated hate at his muggle relatives that it had turned him into another Voldemort.

And so Harry sat. He had no idea that his only hope had believed whatever it was that Fudge had told him. He sat for six weeks, not knowing that as soon as they had heard, his friends had begun to hate him, even his father's old friend, Remus Lupin. He sat for six weeks enduring things that not even the strongest wizard on Earth could withstand. He was certain he would go insane if not worse if no one came for him.

However, neither insanity nor death was in his future. For someone else had heard of the circumstances, the one person who knew for sure that he was innocent. And he was about to find out just how ironic life could be.


	3. The Bargain

Alright, this chapter is the last one originally written by Chibikan. Though, I did do more extensive editing to take out the worst of Voldemort's OOC tendencies (it works in the original, but I have my own plans for this story). I also changed the terms between the two of them. If you read the original you'll know what I mean. All chapters after this are entirely my own work, and you can expect an update in about two weeks.

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Chapter 2:

Harry was sitting on the stone cold cot in the prison, shaking from the last Dementor visit. He was trying to keep the smallest bit of hope inside him. Long ago, he had discovered that hope belonged to him and that no creature, however they may try, could take it away if he really desired to keep it. He remembered a song from a movie he'd watched through his cupboard when the Dursley's weren't aware.

"Come on Harry," He pep talked himself. "Never say never, if you give up hope you'll never get out of here, so never say never." He began humming to himself the song to keep the awful chill of the Dementors off of him.

"That's right Potter," a familiar voice snapped into his reverie.

Harry stood up and backed into the farthest wall as a snake-like man, cloaked in black, with frightening red eyes appeared, having obviously conquered the apparition barriers. "You! What are you doing here?"

"I always knew you were made of stronger stuff than the ministry claimed." The Dark Lord told him. "It's good to see, you know, less shameful to have lost to you so many times." He smirked and looked at Harry closely. His mouth was hanging open in fear and his eyes were wider than silver dollars. "Close your mouth, boy. It's bad manners."

"Answer my question…..what are you doing here?" Harry recovered and stifled his fear, and entered into a muggle-fighting stance. After all, he had no wand with which to fight.

Voldemort laughed in amusement. "I have heard of your predicament, and I have come to get you out of here."

Not moving from his position, Harry asked him. "Why?"

"Well, I don't know, maybe because in my infinite insanity I thought perhaps this wasn't the proper place for one of the world's most powerful wizards. I also thought perhaps you did not like it here and would wish to leave as soon as possible. Was I wrong? Because if I was, I'll leave, far be it for me to tamper with your desires." The snake-man replied sarcastically.

"No! I mean, why would you want to help me? Don't give me that 'I just want to be nice' crap because you don't have a nice bone in your body."

"Well, then I won't say that. I will say that this incident has shown me a few things. And I think that you should join me." Voldemort stated as if it were the most obvious solution.

Harry shook his head. "Now why would I go and do something like that? I'm not quite that insane yet."

"Because I am your only hope for leaving this place. And because at the moment I am the only one you can trust."

"Liar! Dumbledore'll come for me! And if not him then Sirius, or one of my friends. They'll come." He insisted.

Voldemort laughed again. This time with a pity-filled tone. "Oh, you poor little delusional child, what have they done to you? They've got you leaning on every word of promise they ever gave you, even when you've been here for six weeks. And even when you know that if Dumbledore had any intention on rescuing you, he would have been here within an hour of learning you were here." Voldemort came and petted the boy's hair.

Harry pulled away, shuddering from the cold touch. "Stop that! I'm not a child, and I'm not delusional. They'll come." Although, at the moment, he was saying it more to convince himself. "They'll come. They'll rescue me, they know I wasn't responsible! That I'm innocent."

Voldemort sighed. "I can see you're going to be stubborn. Listen, boy, it'll be much easier to accept it if you just stop lying to yourself now. Your 'friends' have abandoned you. To them, you are nothing more than a figure head to lead the battle. They'll use you then dump you! And that's just what they've done." He wasn't exactly lying. He'd been through the same thing with the same type of so called friends. "So open your eyes boy! Open your eyes!"

Harry shook his head in denial, trying to fight angry tears. He didn't want to show any sort of weakness. "And what makes you the only one I can trust huh? How do I know you're not just lying to me, to get me on your side?"

"Because our situations are the same. We've always been in the same boat, Potter. The only difference is that you were raised in a real home, and I in an orphanage. We've both been abused as children and as adults. Neither of us ever had friends until Hogwarts. Both of us were sent back to places we didn't want to go at the end of the school year. And both of us were sent there by the same man who thought to keep us isolated from the rest of the wizarding world. The only reason we're always at each other's throats is because of that one man! The same man who has abandoned you to a lifetime in this hell. Now, I can get you out of here. All you have to do is take my hand. We'd be better as allies than as enemies and you know it."

Harry looked away and thought. He was right; their lives were parallel to each other. Voldemort had always been honest with him; he never doubted once how the man felt about him. He had always been the one constant in Harry's life. And maybe, although the rest of his friends didn't deserve it, maybe he could protect them this way. "Well, can you give me your word that you'll leave their fates to me? Ron's, Hermione's, Sirius', and the rest of my friends? You can have Dumbledore, but swear that you'll let me decide the fate of my other friends."

Voldemort smirked. "And here I'd thought you'd have a foolish condition such as end the war. If that is truly your only condition, then you have my word. Do we have a deal?" He offered a skeletal hand to the child, inwardly rejoicing over his victory, gaining Harry Potter as a follower.

Harry considered again. Was it worth it? Could he really betray his parents? But then, was he really? Who had betrayed who here? He had wanted to defeat Voldemort for their sakes, but surely they would understand his situation. Finally, after many moments of deliberation, he began to put out his hand to take the proffered one. He hesitated twice, no, three times before setting his hand inside the pale palm of the Dark Lord. It was a deal. And with another smirk from said Dark Lord, the two of them vanished from Azkaban.


	4. Important Note

AH! Okay, I'm going to stop making promises I can't keep. The fact of the matter is that real life is really hectic and unpredictable for me right now, so I can't justify making any promises about exactly when any of my stories will be updated, but can only promise that I will continue working on them and will update whenever possible.

Current readers will notice that the poll on my profile page is now closed, with just the final results displayed, as my decision has been made. I now have THREE stories being written concurrently, each exploring a different relationship between Harry and Voldemort. In order to help you all know which ones you want to read, I am including an easy reference guide, going by title:

**Desperate Measures: **This is the slash version. It's the same basic plot idea as v2, but the difference in relationship has a somewhat large effect on the story and its characters. Description: Giving up hope that Dumbledore will help with the abuse at the Dursley's, a desperate Harry flees to the only person he knows will not send him back, Voldemort.

The relationship included will be LV/HP in a bit of a Dom/Sub type of deal. Voldemort will care about Harry but, in typical Dark Lord fashion, will want to feel he is more powerful. Therefore, he will take charge between them, but at the same time Harry will be able to convince him of pretty much anything, if that makes sense. Chapters and slash scenes will be clearly labeled, so explicit scenes that do anything more than slightly suggest something will be able to be skipped if you wish.

**Desperate Measures v2: **This is the clean version of the above story. Up until this author's note, they are identical, but there will be small differences between the two starting with the next chapter. After a few more chapters, the differences will begin to become much larger.

The relationship between Harry and Voldemort in this one will be more of a mentor-like or paternal role on Voldemort's part. It's a strange sort of friendship, with Voldemort being someone Harry starts to respect and willingly follow and take advice from.

**To Err is Human: **This story will be semi-clean. Description: Abandoned by his friends and imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, Harry is rescued by an extremely unlikely person. What happens next?

The relationship between them in this one will pretty much be equivalent to that between a master and a high ranking servant. Voldemort IS a Dark Lord, and Harry willingly follows him, with everything that goes with it. But, things are a bit more complicated between them than that, thus earning the semi-clean label. Let's just say it's safe for you to read, no matter your feelings about slash, but I felt safer labeling it semi-clean.

There, now you should have a pretty good idea of which of my current Harry Potter stories would be to your taste. Hopefully this'll cut down on any issues or complaints later. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me, and I'll be happy to answer them. I'll update whenever I can, but needless to say with real life being so hectic and three stories to worry about at once, it'll be rather erratic. I'll be in a better position after the New Year, when a lot of my current real life commitments come to an end. So, please just be patient with me until then, and I'll thank you with some sort of actually predictable update schedule. Thank you for the patience. And, as always, you can also find me on my LiveJournal under the name olympianlady. Of course, I haven't even had time to update that lately, but you never know.


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